For many years, Sacramento contained a thriving Consilium, until one day, all the city's mages vanished without a trace. The five Orders soon sent representatives to investigate, and rebuild. Obeliskateers refers to the group of mages who discovered the source cyclical ritual that caused the disappearance, and paid in blood -- and in a few cases their lives -- to stop the ritual from repeating itself.
- Chronicled 15 December 2008 to 29 April 2009
An ill-fated Cabal
A few months after the city began to repopulate, the Silver Ladder hosted a musical performance by Fiddler. Blackfire, a businessman who dealt in mana, and Invictus, an ex-convict, met with him during the event and the three agreed to form a Cabal. Before leaving, they heard rumors of strange things happening in Discovery Park. The three decided to investigate, and were soon joined by a fourth Thearch, Animus, who arrived in the city in the wake of Hierarch Cartright's death.
The fledgling Cabal quickly noticed several oddities, minor occurances that defied the laws of probability. Animus soon turned his sight to the Shadow Realm and discovered a stone obelisk pulsing with the Arcana of Fate. A second stone activated with Mind almost immediately, inciting many of the park goers to violence. The four mages retired to Blackfire's Sanctum to prepare before returning to the park's Shadow reflection.
Once there, they discovered ten stones, arranged in an Atlantean Pentagram. As the next stone activated, the Cabal-mates made the fateful decision to attempt to break the spell by moving the next Obelisk out of alignment. As soon as Blackfire touched it, it activated, killing him instantly and severing his soul in the midst of a shockwave that knocked the others unconscious. When Animus awoke, he was alone, his Cabal forever shattered.
Digging for Clues
Meanwhile, the Mysterium was investigating the disappearance in their own way. They had discovered Native American writings chronicling the disappearance of several of their own shamans, a finding that bore a great similarity to the disappearance of the previous Consilium. From what they could determine, the cause was an Abyssal intrusion that activated periodically. They stumbled on ancient ruins in the City of Carson, and sent Ruby to investigate, with the aid of a Libertine named Captain and his crew of Sleepwalkers.
Once there, they were joined by Armstrong, another Libertine. Inside, they found ten stones, each marked with an Arcanum, while a spell activated that began to mentally coerce Ruby. The group beat a hasty retreat back to the surface, Captain's men carrying Ruby out while Armstrong pulled some of her stones into her Pocket Realm.
From the Ashes
Sensing a shockwave of Resonance from Discovery Park, Calligan Wellmer sent Joshua Morris and Zero to investigate. There they found a rather shell-shocked Animus, and the three of them drove back to the Hostel HI. The three of them returned to Discovery Park for further investigations, where they were met by Fiddler, who had been thrown across the Gauntlet. The four were now racing against the clock, attempting to discover how to unravel the ritual as stones continued to activate.
Upon their return to the Hostel, they broke into the middle of an argument that soon turned bloody. The group arrived on the scene to find Calligan grievously wounded and near death. Animus revived him, but the mages were unable to stop his attacker from fleeing. Zero called the Mysterium, and Dr. Primoria assigned Animus, Joshua, and Fiddler to work with Ruby et al.
End of the Beginning
After puzzling out the mystery of the tomb, the group finally determined that they needed to bring those stones to the obelisks. Apotheosis, a Mystagogue also sent by Dr. Primoria, joined them as they returned to Sacramento through a Portal Armstrong opened. Once there, Animus once again brought the group into the Shadow, but as the groups approached the obelisks, an Ananke emerged from each one, each wielding one of the ten Arcana.
After a long and bloody battle, the mages destroyed the Ananke, then placed the stones in the obelisks, terminating the cyclical ritual. The remains of the Ananke crumbled to dust, revealing Invictus' dismembered remains as Blackfire's soul wafted into shadow, shredded into ten pieces. Animus, Armstrong, Joshua, Ruby, and Theo would go on to form a Cabal, the Living Stones.
Although the ritual was broken, the fledgeling Consilium's troubles were only beginning.
See Also
